Abraham and Sarah—Iu Savve Followim Faith Bilong Tufala!
OLKETA kolem hem “dadi bilong evriwan wea garem faith.” (Romans 4:11) Waef bilong hem tu garem fasin olsem. (Hebrews 11:11) Tufala hia nao Abraham, datfala laen dadi wea fraet long God, and faithful waef bilong hem, Sarah. Why nao tufala barava nambawan example bilong faith? Wanem nao samfala test tufala kasem? And hao nao story bilong tufala savve helpem iumi?
Abraham showimaot faith taem God komandim hem for lusim hom bilong hem. Jehovah sei: “Go aot from kantri bilong iu and from olketa relative bilong iu and from haos bilong dadi bilong iu and go long kantri wea mi bae showim long iu.” (Genesis 12:1) Datfala laen dadi wea faithful hem obey, from Bible sei: “Thru long faith Abraham, taem God kolem hem, obey taem hem go long wanfala ples wea hem bae kasem olsem promis; and hem go, nomata hem no savve wea nao hem go.” (Hebrews 11:8) Tingim olketa samting wea insaed disfala wei for muv.
Abraham stap long Ur, long area wea distaem hem south Iraq. Ur hem richfala taon long Mesopotamia wea duim bisnis witim olketa land long Persian Gulf and maet Indus Valley. Sir Leonard Woolley, wea directim waka for digimap Ur, hem sei staka haos long taem bilong Abraham hem olketa white brik haos. Olsem example, haos bilong wanfala rich man hem tu-story haos wea garem aotsaed area wea garem ston floor. Graon level bilong haos hem for olketa servant and visitor. Long first floor, wanfala timba balcony hem raonem wall, wea lead go for olketa rum bilong olketa famili member. Woolley hem sei: “From olketa garem 10 go kasem 20 rum, olketa haos hia garem staka spes and fit for man enjoyim living and, for olketa ples long Midol East, datwan hem rich living.” Hem klia tumas hao olketa haos hia hem bilong “pipol wea garem bigfala savve and fitim pipol wea getius long rich taon laef.” Sapos Abraham and Sarah lusim kaen haos olsem for stap long tent hem minim tufala mekem bigfala sakrifaes for obeyim Jehovah.
Abraham firstaem muv go long Haran, wanfala taon long north area bilong Mesopotamia, and then long Canaan. Datwan hem 1,600 kilometer from Ur—wanfala big change for wanfala olo hasband and waef! Taem tufala lusim Haran, Abraham hem 75 year and Sarah hem 65.—Genesis 12:4.
Hao nao maet feeling bilong Sarah taem Abraham talem hem tufala bae lusim Ur? Maet hem wari for lusim gud living long naesfala haos, muv go long ples hem no savve eniting abaotem and wea hem maet stap long danger, and for garem living wea moa poor. Nomata olsem, Sarah stap anda and tingim Abraham olsem “lord” bilong hem. (1 Peter 3:5, 6) Samfala savveman ting disfala “wei bilong Sarah for respectim hem,” olsem pruv bilong “really wei bilong tingting and feeling bilong hem.” Bat winim evriting, Sarah trustim Jehovah. Faith bilong Sarah and wei wea hem stap anda hem gudfala example for olketa Christian waef.
Hem tru, God no askem iumi for lusim hom bilong iumi for obeyim hem, bat samfala wea preachim gud nius full-taem lusim hom bilong olketa for preachim gud nius long nara kantri. Nomata wea nao iumi servem God, sapos iumi putim olketa spiritual samting firstaem long laef, hem bae provaedem evri need bilong iumi.—Matthew 6:25-33.
Sarah and Abraham no sorre long samting tufala disaedem. Aposol Paul hem sei, “Sapos olketa go ahed for tingim ples wea olketa lusim, bae olketa garem chance for go bak.” Bat olketa no go bak. From olketa sure Jehovah hem “kamap datwan wea givim reward long olketa wea barava luk aotem hem,” tufala showimaot faith long olketa promis bilong hem. Iumi tu mas olsem sapos iumi want for go ahed worshipim Jehovah witim full soul.—Hebrews 11:6, 15, 16.
Spiritual and Material Riches
Bihaen Abraham kasem Canaan, God talem hem: “Mi bae givim disfala land long seed bilong iu.” From diswan, Abraham buildim wanfala altar long Jehovah and “start for singaot long nem bilong Jehovah.” (Genesis 12:7, 8) Jehovah mekem Abraham kamap rich, and staka pipol stap witim hem long olketa tent. From wantaem hem hipimap 318 man wea kasem training, olketa slave wea born long haos bilong Abraham, olketa sei “full namba bilong evri pipol wea stap witim Abraham mas winim wan thousand.” Iumi no savve long reason bat pipol tingim Abraham olsem “wanfala chief bilong God.”—Genesis 13:2; 14:14; 23:6.
Abraham lead long worship and teachim pipol bilong hem for “keepim wei bilong Jehovah for duim raeteous fasin and judgment.” (Genesis 18:19) Olketa Christian famili hed distaem savve kasem encouragement from example bilong Abraham olsem man wea win for teachim famili bilong hem for depend long Jehovah and followim raeteous wei. So iumi no sapraes hao datfala servant girl bilong Sarah, Hagar from Egypt, firstfala servant bilong Abraham, and son bilong Abraham, Isaac, depend long Jehovah God.—Genesis 16:5, 13; 24:10-14; 25:21.
Abraham Aftarem Peace
Olketa samting wea happen long laef bilong Abraham showimaot Abraham garem fasin wea followim God. Winim wei for letem raoa midolwan olketa wakman bilong hem and son bilong brata bilong hem Lot for go ahed, Abraham ask for olketa separate and invaetem Lot wea moa young for chusim land hem laekem. Abraham hem man for mek peace.—Genesis 13:5-13.
Sapos iumi need for chus midolwan wei for kasem samting wea iumi tingse hem right bilong iumi or for no askem datwan for mekem peace kamap, hem gud for remember hao Jehovah no letem Abraham safa from wei wea hem letem Lot tekem best samting. God promis for givim Abraham and seed bilong hem evri land wea Abraham savve lukim. (Genesis 13:14-17) Jesus sei: “Hapi nao olketa wea mekem peace kamap [“pipol wea mek peace,” footnote], from bae olketa kolem olketa ‘olketa son bilong God.’ ”—Matthew 5:9.
Hu Nao Bae Kasem Evri Samting Bilong Abraham?
Nomata God promisim seed, Sarah no savve garem pikinini. Abraham talem diswan long God. Waswe, servant bilong hem Eliezer bae kasem evriting hem ownim? Nomoa, from Jehovah sei: “Disfala man bae no kam bihaen for kasem evri samting bilong iu, bat wan wea kamaot from iu nao bae kasem evri samting bilong iu.”—Genesis 15:1-4.
Bat hem no garem pikinini and Sarah wea hem 75 year hem lus hope for garem pikinini. So, hem sei long Abraham: “Jehovah stopem mi for garem pikinini. Plis, sleep witim servant girl bilong mi. Maet mi savve garem pikinini from hem.” Then Abraham tekem Hagar for kamap mek-tu waef, sleep witim hem, and hem kamap babule. Stretawe bihaen Hagar savve hem babule, hem start for lukdaonem Sarah. Sarah komplen strong long Abraham and mekem Hagar shame fogud, wea mekem servant girl hia ranawe.—Genesis 16:1-6.
Abraham and Sarah tingse tufala duim gud samting, duim samting wea pipol long datfala taem savve duim. Bat, datwan hem no wei bilong Jehovah for mekem Abraham garem seed. Taem wanfala problem kamap, maet iumi followim kastom bilong iumi, bat maet Jehovah no appruvim datwan. Tingting bilong hem maet barava difren. Dastawe, iumi need for luk aotem direction bilong God, prea for hem showim wei hem laekem iumi for followim.—Psalm 25:4, 5; 143:8, 10.
No Eniting Hem “Hard Tumas for Jehovah”
Gogo, Hagar garem son, Ishmael, from Abraham. Nomata olsem, hem no datfala promis Seed. Sarah seleva bae bornem datfala Seed, nomata hem olo fogud.—Genesis 17:15, 16.
Taem God sei hao Sarah nao bae garem son bilong hasband bilong hem, “Abraham foldaon long feis bilong hem and start for laf and sei insaed heart bilong hem: ‘Waswe, bae wanfala man wea handred year fit for garem baby, and bae Sarah, wanfala woman wea naenti year bornem pikinini?’ ” (Genesis 17:17) Taem angel talem moa diswan and Sarah herem, Sarah “laf insaed long hemseleva.” Bat no eniting hem “hard tumas for Jehovah.” Iumi savve garem faith hao hem bae fulfillim evriting hem ting for duim.—Genesis 18:12-14.
“Thru long faith [nao] Sarah kasem paoa for bornem pikinini, nomata hem winim age for duim diswan, from hem tingim hao datwan wea givim promis hem faithful.” (Hebrews 11:11) Gogo, Sarah bornem Isaac, wea nem bilong hem minim “Laflaf.”
Trustim Evribit Olketa Promis Bilong God
Jehovah markem Isaac olsem datfala seed bilong promis from bifor kam. (Genesis 21:12) So Abraham masbi seke taem God askem hem for sakrifaesim son bilong hem. Nomata olsem, Abraham garem reason for trustim God evribit. Waswe, Jehovah no savve resurrectim Isaac? (Hebrews 11:17-19) God pruvim finis bigfala paoa bilong hem taem hem duim mirakol for mekem Abraham and Sarah fit for bornem Isaac! From hem sure God bae fulfillim olketa promis bilong hem, Abraham hem redy for obey. Hem tru, angel bilong Jehovah stopem Abraham for killim dae son bilong hem. (Genesis 22:1-14) Bat wanem Abraham hem go thru helpem iumi for lukim hao hem masbi hard for Jehovah God “givim only-born Son bilong hem, mekem evriwan wea showimaot faith long hem no need for dae bat kasem laef olowe.”—John 3:16; Matthew 20:28.
From Abraham garem faith long God, hem sure hao seed bilong olketa promis bilong Jehovah no savve maritim wanfala woman wea no worshipim God from land bilong Canaan. Hao nao wanfala dadi or mami wea lovem God savve appruvim wei for pikinini maritim eniwan wea no servem Jehovah? So Abraham luk aotem wanfala gud waef for Isaac from midolwan olketa relative bilong hem long Mesopotamia, wea stap winim 800 kilometer from olketa. God blessim diswan taem hem showim hao Rebekah nao woman hem chusim for kamap waef bilong Isaac and for laen mami bilong Messiah. Tru nao, Jehovah “blessim Abraham long evri samting.”—Genesis 24:1-67; Matthew 1:1, 2.
Blessing for Evri Nation
Abraham and Sarah showimaot gud example long fasin for go ahed strong long test and for showimaot faith long olketa promis bilong God. Wei wea olketa promis hia fulfill join witim hope for olketa man, from Jehovah promisim Abraham: “Thru long seed bilong iu evri nation bilong earth bae barava blessim olketa seleva bikos iu nao lisin long voice bilong mi.”—Genesis 22:18.
Hem tru, Abraham and Sarah no perfect, olsem iumi tu. Bat taem tufala minim gud will bilong God, tufala kwiktaem obeyim—nomata wanem. Dastawe, Bible kolem Abraham “fren bilong Jehovah” and Sarah olsem wanfala “holy woman wea hope long God.” (James 2:23; 1 Peter 3:5) Iumi tu savve fren klos witim God sapos iumi waka hard for followim faith bilong Abraham and Sarah. And tu, iumi savve kasem gud samting from olketa nambawan promis bilong Jehovah for Abraham.—Genesis 17:7.
[Piksa long page 26]
From faith bilong tufala, Jehovah blessim Abraham and Sarah witim wanfala son taem tufala olo
[Piksa long page 28]
Example bilong Abraham helpem iumi minim feeling bilong Jehovah taem hem givim only-born Son bilong hem for dae